The first time I heard "Row Jimmy" in concert was in New Haven, April '83.
I just barely knew the song, and had almost none of the lyric memorized. I
was tripping at the time, as well; I was with my sisters, who weren't. It
was the first show for each of them.

Anyway, the imagery that assembled during that song were rather deeply
conceived; I have a very full image of the world being described, but lack
sufficient English skills to put them clearly and completely in prose.
The sympathetic characters -- Jimmy and Julie -- would be lower-middle-
Depression. I had no particular image of what they were doing, because I
had no idea what was being sung.

But during the chorus, I got the impression that person saying "Row, Jimmy"
was a white man talking to a ferryman on the way across the river -- "Gonna
get there?" and Jimmy replies "I don't know." For some reason, there's a
tension borne in the air because Jimmy recollects patronizing behavior --
"Seems a common way to go " -- from this man in town, and Jimmy
literally has him where he could conceivably want him. This tension is
offset by the knowledge that Jimmy is basically not going to hurt this guy;
but he plays on the guy's nervousness about the situation and extorts a
large tip. Plays the man for a fool.

The comment "That's the way it's been in town / ever since they tore the
juke-box down / two-bit piece don't buy no more / not so much as it done
before" is the narrator sort of shaking his head about the looser moral
tone that seems to be coming with the depersonalization blues and the
transciency of the material plane. I had a very strong image during this
line of Jimmy sitting in the rowboat with a slightly shit-eating grin, as
they float in place about fifteen feet away from the dock. The white man
is sweating a bit and reaching for his wallet.

Wow. Interesting stuff. A whole different view from the blurry
postcard I keep in my mind's back pocket from this song.

#3 of 48: Handsome Cabin Boy (moog) Tue Oct 8 '91 (21:23) 7 lines

The song hasn't made a lick of sense to me in twenty years.

But now that you ask...
It just evokes a dream world...gonna get there? I don't care.
The whole town is left dreaming about nickelodeons and nostolia.

I guess it still doesn't make any sense to me.

#5 of 48: Doug Everitt (deveritt) Tue Oct 8 '91 (22:51) 4 lines

Heh.

This may be the ultimate "you hear your own song" lyric,
among the first-set songs, anyhow...

#6 of 48: Mike Cowperthwaite (mcow) Tue Oct 8 '91 (23:23) 8 lines

I should note that my image has solidified greatly since I've learned the
lyrics. More characters to fill out the verses as I know them. I've got a
great picture of a grass shack nailed to a pinewood floor.

FWIW, I've always assumed Hunter meant jumping off the levee to dive into
the water below. I'm not sure how to interpret "levee doin' a do-paso"
however; a "do-paso" I would guess to be a dance step, but how the levee
does it I can't figure.

#7 of 48: Anonymous Wed Oct 9 '91 (06:05) 6 lines

I remember a Relix article in which the writer of the article decided that
the song, written in '72/'73 or so, was about Jimmy Carter. Talk about
yer misinterpretations....

I've never figured it out but, then again, I'm temporarily sick of it and therefore don't really pay attention when it rolls along.

#8 of 48: Alex Whitney (bltz) Wed Oct 9 '91 (08:35) 1 line

I love Row Jimmy. Always made perfect sense.

#14 of 48: john henrikson (johnlee) Sat Oct 12 '91 (06:06) 9 lines

For me, this song always brings to mind the images and feelings of working
through the problems of a relationship, or a marriage. No certainty, much
ambivalence as to whether or not we're doing the 'right' thing, whatever
that is.. "seems a common way to go".. The lines about "That's the way it's
been in town, eversince they tore the jukebox down Two-bit pice don't buy
lost passion, of the sadness that comes with a realization of loss..
But this is a perfect example of why a great song means different things to
dfferent people...

#28 of 48: Uh...Clem (moog) Tue Oct 22 '91 (22:12) 2 lines
Row Jimmy is one of those sometimes the songs are just songs
of our own songs

#30 of 48: Anonymous Mon Nov 4 '91 (06:54) 54 lines

It may sound silly, but because my name is Julie, I have
always felt a special connection with this song.

When I was first being initiated into the Dead scene, I
spent a LOT of time around half moon bay doing LOTS of LSD.
The whole world was very alive to me, and there are certain
musical works that really remind me of this time. Santana
and John Mayall both have album covers that remind me of
this time, and Call Any Vegetable and From the Heart of Me
world of the unbelieveable. There was one particular time,
when I felt like I was losing it (I was terrified over some
delusion) and something happened with a jackrabbit. It's a
little vague, but that line brings me to a memory of a time
when I overcame fear, when I was swimming in enlightenment
and confusion, and a time I lived a life where ordinary
reality was absolutely suspended and I was able to open
passages I cherish now. It was the beginning of a new life
for me in many ways. By catching the rabbit.. I grasped an
ambiguous and everexpanding indescribable concept. Come back
stepping... is how I was transformed. The ability I have to
rise above the mundane plane at shows and on other special
occasions (when the contributing factors are aligned) can
easily be described as walking on air. Getting comfortable
with alternative realms happened to me out there between the
Ocean and Hwy. 1.

Get back home... speaks to me of straying from a
constructive path. Something of paramount importance when
you have access to heightened awareness (inherent power)..
for everybody's benefit.
Deciding to acknowledge the responsibility of recognizing
one's own power is a lot like jumping into a place with no
visible means of support, initially. (Hitting the air). It
takes incredible luck, self control, experience, meditation,
guidance, and practice to find a way to deal with this realm
(the double twist). It seems the effort is rewarded (the
half dollar). But the reward is always token and passing..
for you are never in a place where you can relax and be
aforded slack.

Look at Julie down below...

I think of this almost everytime I go by a levee. They are
often in beautiful places, of course, being associated with
rivers. This line I take very personally. I see myself
dancing in a gift to the universe, celebrating life,
creation, magic... .

Row Jimmy... a story of the journey of the sage. We all
work, supported by water (a powerful liquidity), never
knowing, really, how we are doing, or where we are going.